Shanghai International Marathon - Race Reviews

I ran this (3rd time) because it's convenient more so than memorable. Weather is getting hotter in November (21-25*C race morning). How about we deal with air pollution in December or climate change or both? The Goods: - emphasis on running etiquette in the several SMS received pre-raced (a lot more education to do) - 25min from metro station to standing in the start corral. Included toilet, gear check and stretching. Many details missed: - English website is improving but still unfriendly and missing basic details - I got into the 3:45 coral but ran for 20min before seeing the 5:00 pacers (?!) - Why do all 3 races start at the same time?! Resulted in many different paces running all together. - Runner name on bib was printed way too small. Impossible to read. - Several toilet stations placed right on the course (Why not a side street?!) so bathroom-goers lined up into the path of runners. - Water and sports drinks used same cup. Stations weren't clearly marked in advance so many runners suddenly cut across the route. - Disposal bins were put next to the water stations instead of staggered down course. - Water misters were put on the side of the course, not accounting for wind direction so few actually sprayed onto runners. - A waste of a stadium finish. Completely empty (except runners) and without atmosphere, after which everyone was quickly herded out. Why not issue some family passes and pack out the stadium for a rousing finish? That would be truly memorable and worth returning for. - No Small shirts left by Saturday morning.

I am an international runner and I didn't realise until the day before that my race number was in the starting block E. As a 3hrs 30 minutes marathon runner, I found myself at the back of 5hrs.30minutes runners. This was a big nightmare and cruel to be subjected to this experience. It ruined what would be been a great experience having travelled all the way from London and possibly the only black man in the mass race apart from the elite runners.

This was my first marathon in China and Shanghai. Overall a great experience. Great, fast almost flat course, organization along the race course very good with plenty of supply of water stations, energy drinks, cold sponges, medical coverage...! And a very engaged crowd of supporters and spectators. The only downside is the congested starting area and slow runners get there way in into the A block which caused a lot of unnecessary slowing down the first km's and annoyances. But this can be easily improved! I think the race has a lot of further upwards potential and could end up as one of the ' bigger ones' moving forward. Singapore-watch it!

Having done several full marathons my home country Singapore, this is my first attempt at an overseas marathon in 2013. My previous best time had been a slow 5:41 for a night marathon and given the cut-off time for this Shanghai Marathon was 6:00 I was certainly taking a big gamble by signing up for this. The course was better than the Singapore marathons in terms of the amount of space for running as the crowd support. I have never experienced having so many bystanders watching and cheering runners on back in Singapore. The atmosphere at the beginning was great too. The only thing I didn't like was the congested access to the start point. Other than that it was a great marathon experience and I managed to improve my FM PB by 30 minutes, 5:11, and could have been better if not for dehydration. The course is demoralising in the second half, having to make several u-turns, and crossing a huge bridge. Along the way I also took to encouraging fellow strugglers in persevering. It was indeed a memorable experience for me.

A nice city course, modest entry fee, complaint-less organization (both pre- and post-race), quality race shirt, several invigorating drum/cheer groups along the course BUT... 1) the air was terrible this year. Air Quality Index fluctuated between 186 (Unhealthy) and 275 (Very Unhealthy). Shanghai Marathon Organizing Commmittee, please advocate for some social and political change! Otherwise, your venerable IAAF Gold Road Race will become the biggest showcase for one of China's ugliest, most disgraceful flaws possible, its disregard for the environment. 2) the running etiquette amongst racers was infuriating. Endless numbers of plastic panchos were just discarded in the middle of the street for all to trample and trip on. 3) no solid food at any official station. No bananas, raisins, cookies. Post race spread was equally paltry. I guess the 300RMB entry fee justifies this. 4) the subdued, conservative Chinese crowd. I felt a bit like a spectacle on display for their curious viewing. Definitely not an athlete worth celebrating and cheering.

A big 'Thank You' for all the people who worked so hard to make this event happen, without you it wouldn't be that perfect. I enjoyed every single moment of the race and all of you should also receive a medal for your volunteer work:)

It is not the best marathon in the world but will always hold a very special place in my heart. After all, Shanghai is my city by birth, and I have left my heart in Shanghai before moving to San Francisco.

For someone who has only run races on mainland Europe running in China was always going to be a memorable experience... And running the Shanghai marathon clearly was! From what I read from previous comments this race is coming of age! 28.000 runners in total, including 18.000 in the semi- and full marathon. 5000 runners from abroad, mainly Korea and Japan... During the race I sporadically spotted a Lao Wei (long nose - the general term for white people in China). The organisation was crisp and efficient. Lots of tables with ample water and a sweet tea drink along the course, bag drop-off simple and the finish easy and efficient. The only comment could be that entry into the race might be difficult from abroad - I was lucky to have a Chinese colleague arrange the entry for me (I had sent emails to the organisation with questions - but never got an answer!) The start is 'Chinese chaotic': lots of slower runners pushing to the front, racing ahead and then stopping to take pictures of the field bearing down on them! The spectators along the course are generally very enthousiastic - especially when I managed to catch their eye! This always got them to shout out encouragement... and there were teams of factory workers dressed in bright colours and waving pompoms, or rhythmically banging small drums. The course is good: starting at The Bund across 5 lanes of traffic and detouring through the Expo area. There are only two long boring bits - when you backtrack through the Expo area exactly the same way you came, and the last 10km which are also an Out 'n Back stretch... but the groups of spectators make up for it! I didn't make a PR - having arrived two days earlier my jet lag saw to that - but I sure am glad I ran this race! It's a memorable one!

Looking for a winter marathon in Asia and reading the reviews here, I chose the Shanghai marathon. The best way I can describe it is to say it was exactly what I expected from a race in China: organized, efficient, cheap, crowded, dirty. They announced 28,000 runners from 66 countries. No start corrals so there was lots of pushing, but while there were always lots of people around, there was always plenty of space, at least 2 full traffic lanes if not 4+. Easy to get to start line, stay in a hotel in the Bund and you can walk (the Peace Hotel is at the start, I stayed at the Blue Mountain Bund Hostel and was about 4 blocks away, hostel also allows for late check and to pay for a 1/2 day for check-out by 6pm). Good community support with groups of elderly out waving pompoms and yelling, more trafficked areas had families out, although they were tiring by the end. Plenty of aid stations with bottled water and sweet tea, though no gels or food. Not enough toilets, but there were some (carry your own TP). Lots of medics around, including every 50 yards for the last 2km. Nothing at the expo, and the expo is a bit of a hassle to get to, but not bad. Schwag was fine, you get half of it at the finish; shirt is tech fabric and ok, decent string backpack, 2 towels, a nice armband for music/phone. Finish line food is a bag containing a bottle of water, 2 fun-size Snickers, and a package of cookies like you get on a plane. The course was fine, scenery wasn't exciting, but not bad and at least the roads were in excellent condition. Mostly flat except a 3km climb up a helix and over the bridge, but that's at the 3km mark. Timing chips required a 100y deposit in cash at registration, which you got back upon returning the chip at the finish. Finish line is at a metro station, and there are plenty of taxis (legal and just enterprising car owners), but with cash you can be on your way back to the hotel less than 30 minutes after crossing the finish line. While there is definitely air pollution, I wouldn't say it effected the race. Can't guarantee it, of course, but the weather in 2011 was absolutely perfect, sunny and about 30F at the start, maybe 45 by the finish. The race only cost $40, hotel was cheap, as was food and transport, so price-wise it was a good deal, as far as traveling to races goes! I went in knowing I was under-trained and also at the tail-end of a bad cold, so I knew I wasn't going to have a great race, finish-time, but all in all, I had a nice time at the Shanghai marathon.

For 2011, the course changed somewhat with runners going up the spiral access ramp to one of the bridges spanning the river, the highlight of the race. The start was also better (on the Bund) as opposed to Nanjing Rd, and no choke point as in 2010. Supplies are largely limited to water and sweet tea. Worth it if you are in town.

As an Ex-Pat living in Shanghai, I obviously find this city comfortable enough to call home. However even as a race that starts 10 minutes from my front door, it is not one that I would likely do again. The organization was not great. Maybe I am spoiled having ran so many times in the United States where even the smaller races have been well organized but this was terrible especially at the start. First they have one starting line, with two corrals. One is for a 'fun race' which is like a 5K the other is for the half and full. Due to adequate signs I saw so many other people who came in town for the half or full in the 'fun race' corral. That corral took a hard right (with barricades) from the starting line and made them unable to right their wrong and jump to the correct course. I was almost one of them. Another HUGE problem is that there was no separation for seasoned runners thus unless you showed up two hours before the race you were back in the pack running behind tons of local chinese 26,000 runners total this year I was told, although I started probably only behind 1,500 of them. I'm sorry, but if I were coming in town I would be very upset to have to worry for the first 15k about maybe having someone just stop running right in front of me. Stop running right in front of you? Yes. It happened all the time and I only started 1,500 people back. This race (as all races) needs to explicitly ban cell phones and cameras. As someone who has worked out here I can tell you that Chinese and their current culture is literally inseparable from their cell phones. (Forget getting emails from this race to confirm, its only via text and the texts come race day starting at 3am!) On the course I ran into 2 people that slowed to answer their phone, saw at least 5 texting (OMG IM RUNNING GUYS LOL), saw no less than 10 people stop mid course to take a picture of the view or themselves. I also saw my very first fist fight at the 20km mark with two older Chinese men right in front of me. Because there is no separation at the beginning by proof of a qualifying time or any other method, the amount of runners you literally bump into doing these things is unbelievable. I am not an elite, and was doing it for fun at around a 1:30 pace, but with the dodging of people who could not separate from their technology for two hours and started at the front made it much less enjoyable than it should have been. Also, be warned if there is a television camera at the part of the course for people will literally run across right in front of you to stop and yell into the camera. Also the aid stations were very inadequate. They said there was water at every 2km but they considered water wet sponges at half of them. If I live in a city where I am told not to drink the water from the tap Im not going to ring a sponge for it, if thats what they were thinking I'd do.

This was my first Shanghai Marathon, so don't know the old course, but the new course was pretty good. It took you past a lot of the scenic parts of the world's largest city, around the Bund; but then, at the 20K-mark, sent you on a straight, out-and-back shot, which was not so scenic. I suppose that allows for the marathon to happen, as again, shutting down the world's largest city I think would be a challenge. Great course control and cheering along the way; no complaints on organization except at the start. People need to remember that this is mainland China, so things are still a little different (runners smoking in the starting corrals, etc., but hey, no big deal - I think it's awesome!). But the only downside was the bottleneck at the start where they had officials on the course directing traffic over the recessed brass traffic columns, making the entire race come to a dead stop for 30 seconds or so with a lot of pushing. That seemed like a major problem at the time, but it was a minor thing overall. I still had a great race; check it out! :)

Pre-race was good but the finish was pretty chaotic and a nightmare to get away from. As for the run, the start is fun, but after the first few kilometers it was a shame to find we were up close with a traffic jam. My biggest gripe comes from the fact that the locals didn't seem to know there was a race and the stewarding of the course was poor. Motorbikes and even cars repeatedly tried to cross the course. I ended up colliding with a bike and my thumb was a painful memory for a long time. It's always fun to spend a weekend in Shanghai, especially with friends, but I wouldn't go again just for the race.

I've run about 20 marathons. The overall competition was OK, but it needs to improve in some ways. 1.The race course was quite boring. No memorable places (such as the Bund). And the ground was so hard too (after 25 KM). 2. There were few English signs, so you didn't understand where to return your chip or where to get your running certificate from (if you can't read Chinese). 3. The website is ugly (especially the running results). 4. Starting line was so great, but the finishing line was so small (like other small marathon that have 500-2,000 runners).

A rather boring and ugly marathon, taking you past absolutely none of the sights or interesting places in town but rather along straight main roads and industrial parks. Organization is ok, but in the earlier part the road is too narrow for the number of runners. Very good finish line logistics though - even though I did not see any showers provided. (But note that the finish is way out of the center.) So if you are in Shanghai, it's a can-do; but do not bother going there for the run.

The 2008 Shanghai marathon is an event with many characteristics you would expect from a first-rate international marathon. And yes there are some aspects that could be improved. To begin, Shanghai is a massive, modern city that makes London and even New York seem civilized and quaint. The course accordingly begins in a super-modern "Times-Square" kind of atmosphere with tens of thousands of runners and spectators packing into the start area. Although there were plenty of foreign runners, this event is massively dominated by young Chinese. Just enough English signage allowed newcomers like me could to make sense of staging pens, shuttle buses etc. The flat, fast course winds through the downtown area, eventually leaving the busy center for the outskirts of town. The density of runners, the hype and the presence of marshals and cheerers faded after the fork of the popular half-marathon course. The day began clear and at a nice 12 degrees Celsius, gradually warming up to 18. Disappointingly, the course did not go through the famous Bund area, nor Pudong or the historic old city. Nonetheless, the sight of temples, monuments and thousands of cheerers created a memorable course atmosphere. I found myself continuously entertained by the costumes, props and choreographed movements of women's groups cheering and dancing in unison along the roadside. Little in the way of snacks on course, but regular drink stations offered sponges and sport drinks with the curious label: Porcari-Sweat. Having already seen the slick registration set-up, I was not surprised to find that the finish area system was equally methodical. By the time I left the stadium I was heavily laden with food, gifts and prizes. Runners often comment on the material value of a marathon, which in this case was excellent: I received a technical running shirt, a cordura Mizuno back pack, plenty of food (including a bottle of soy sauce??), a medal, certificate, a plush towel, a book about shanghai, and oh yes, a box of Twinkies and two more bottles of Porc Sweat.

It was a perfect day, weather-wise: cool, sunny, windless. But the air, as usual, was horrendous. Absolutely choking at some places, where you run beside endless lines of idling vehicles, where the air is trapped and has nowhere to go but your lungs (you run under elevated highways for a couple K in the 1st half, then on an elevated, beside the noise barrier, for a few K in the 2nd half). Awful for an asthmatic like me. It was the same last year. Considering the city, an incredibly ill-planned route. Nowhere near the Bund, the French Concession, etc. In fact, at the end when you're struggling, it's into industrial waste land. (A marathon into China's 21st century??) Ridiculous registration process: cannot register online. Overall organization: pretty standard, I guess. Buses to carry items from start to finish, fairly well-organized (could be better). Fluid, sponge, toilet and aid stations well-spaced and signed. No impediments from traffic (except the fumes). Shuttle buses from the finish back into the city (but then, why not finish somewhere central?). Spectators: lots of organized groups banging gongs and shouting, "Jia you" (go, go). Good crowds. Overall: If you are in China, and don't have many options, come. Otherwise, don't go out of your way for this one.

Only run the Shanghai Marathon if you want to have a race in China in your pocket. The route is far from exciting, as it goes through the outskirts of the city! What a shame - there are so many other nice routes in the city!

This is my first ever "big" event, and the sheer number of participants was overwhelming and made for an amazing atmosphere. The route itself was not that great, but it wasn't so bad either, compared to some of the routes Ive raced. The spectators made the event so much more fun, and practically the whole way were people cheering, "Ja yai, ja yai," and ladies dancing in formation with ribbons and drums and tambourines. The organization at the end was excellent; we queued up for certificates immediately after finishing and received medals at the same time. The weather was just perfect. My friends and I WILL be back next year. The website is a little difficult to understand (the English version). Has anyone managed to view the results yet?

Overall, this was a pretty good race (I ran the 1/2, and my wife ran the full). It was well organized from number pickup through the awards, and the course was well marked, with frequent water and sponge stations (I saw them at a minimum every 5K; not sure what experience the previous poster had). The crowds were enthusiastic, with lots of groups of supporters on the sidelines chanting or cheering. The Puxi area of Shanghai is not the most scenic area, and we were running on roads with active traffic, although there was plenty of space between runners and autos, unlike previous years. My recommendation on the survey they sent out was to pick a more scenic environment, but it's tough in this city. The website was awful, especially the bit in English - we're still waiting for results to be posted a few days later.

I have read all of the comments and I have to agree. If you are already in Shanghai, do it! The crowds enthusiasm is contagious and makes for a memorable experience. It seems the race organizers must be reading these comments because they have made improvements. For one, this year there were beautiful medals for all of the finishers! I would've liked to have been able to buy a sweatshirt or coffee mug for memorabilia at the end of the race. The beginning of the race was great. The buses for all of the bags were very well organized (my friend enjoyed the group warm-ups). The finish lines to pick up the printed certificates were also very efficient. The chips for our times were great, as a runner you always want to know your real time, start to finish. The start of the race on the walking street Najing Lu is perfect. OK, so what needs to be improved? As you are running you can visibly see that you are headed straight for the smog and pollution! Ugh, no runner wants to fill their lungs with that! Why not start it in the same place, run through the historic Bund, and then head over a bridge (!) to the clean Pudong area! Another thing that needs to be thought of is to have the finish close to a subway stop! My friends and I were all done running in 2 hours and then it took us over 3 hours to get home, via subway, bus, subway, taxi, and then finally a shuttle!

The course was not thought out at all. It ran in parallel to major roads in Shanghai, and along some of the worst scenery in the city, not to mention polluted air. I have lived in Shanghai for the past year and there are certainly more scenic routes to choose. Also, there were only two water stations along the 13.1-mile course (one more about 100 yards from the finish) and the volunteers didn't have any cups filled at either location!! Finally, many others and I clocked off 13.45 miles for the course using our Garmin GPS watches. Now it's understandable that you add some distance weaving in and out of crowds, but almost an extra half mile??? Don't bother signing up for this race, unless it's under some new management. The crowds were generally the only positive part of the race.

It was my first half-marathon in my life. As a college student, I think the race is OK. It was really a wonderful experience, especially when I finished the half-marathon within 2 hours. As for the improvement, I'd like to suggest the organizer replace this current marathon route with a better one, such as one that runs through the Pudong area where the air is clean and fresh.

Stay away from this race. If you are living in China, then it's one of few large marathons that you can do, so you may be stuck with it. The city is polluted and you run up and down busy streets for most of the race (with the cars still going next to you). Try and find another race if you can...

It was my first marathon. I lived in Shanghai and didn't hesitate to participate. The perfect whether made the run much easier. I just didn't understand why the organizer designed such an ugly course running through Xinzhuang of the Minhang District instead of the Pudong new area. I used to live in Xinzhuang for awhile and moved to Century Park for better environment. The brutal Xinzhuang course ruined my nice feeling for the first half. If the organizer doesn't change this, the Shanghai Marathon will never stand out among its competition with Beijing, Xiamen and Dalian - not to mention be accepted around the world. So if you happen to be in Shanghai during the race day, try it. Otherwise, please don't bother to fly here.

My first full marathon. The first half of the race was quite ok, even though this time unfortunately the start was not at the famous Bund. The second half was extremely tedious and boring, partially being on an elevated highway. The sound barrier as well as the stop-and-go traffic on the other lane made for unbearable air. Also the second half lead mostly through industrial parks, therefore boring boxy factory buildings and few onlookers. I was amazed at the friendliness at the onlookers and the numerous cheering bands etc. out there. Drink stations were well spaced.

After running the Shanghai 1/2M three times, I decided to go whole hog for the full this year. I had run Beijing Marathon last month, and was sure nothing could be uglier. Well, I was right, but not by that much. Like Beijing, Shanghai starts off on a scenic foot. You gather by the banks of the Huangpu River on the historic Bund, in the shadow of the old Peace Hotel. Nice enough, though the lack of toilet facilities inside the starting pen means you probably have to pee within the first 100 meters, which I sure did. I'm not shy, so a construction site on Nanjing Road did just fine. For the first 6K, it's looking all right, the crowds are supportive, the streets a little narrow but maneuverable. Then you head out under the Yan'an Expressway, which is OK I guess, since most of the traffic is 20 to 30 meters away from you or overhead. Turn out and into Hongqiao, and it starts to get ugly kinda quick. When the full finally breaks from the half, be ready for ugly, dusty, smoggy and insufferably boring. There are times you are running with trucks, cars and motorcycles in the lane next to you. On other occasions, you need to cross bike/motorcycle lanes to get to yours. For most of the last 5-6K, you get to run on an elevated highway with traffic right next to you, and sound barriers on both sides making for a wonderful breathing experience. The visual unpleasantness aside (and don't get me wrong - Shanghai is a very nice city and you could string together a very scenic route, but that's another issue), the race was well supported this year. Seems that every time someone dies in a race in Beijing or Hong Kong, it translates into better support for the other races. Lots of drinks, but watch out for what looks like Gatorade - turns out to be some really sugary, really nasty-tasting soft drink. The lack of medal? Oh well, you can always go to a local store and get one made for $2. The bags and towels were nice, but there's nothing on them about the marathon itself. How am I supposed to silently brag to friends and family without "Shanghai Marathon 2006" emblazoned on the side??? And the t-shirt - well, it ain't exactly as ugly as the past couple of years, but still.... All in all, another one of those "if you're there, go for it" kind of marathons. I wouldn't fly half-way around the world for it, but it's fun enough, we were SUPER lucky on the weather (12 days straight of pouring rain before, dry that day, 2-3 more days of rain after), and you get to check off another marathon on your life-long to do list.

Although Shanghai is where I was born and raised, it took me 15 years and 65 marathons to finally return to run this hometown marathon. It is not a scenic run or anything like Boston or NYC, but it's reasonably well organized overall. The course is flat and fast, marked in KMs, with clocks and water stations every 5K. This year there were over 2,500 people in the full marathon and about 3,000 in the half. There was also a shorter 4.5KM run. A lot of cheering spectators along the course, which provided a sight rather different from what you'd expect in America or Europe. Minimal support in terms of water and sports drinks. You have to finish within 5 1/2 hours. As for improvement, I thought they could put out more cups at each water station and some portable bathrooms on the course - I had to jump into some garden at one point during the race. There was no medal for finishing the marathon but the finisher's award sure wasn't shabby: this year it was a very nice, large, Mizuno duffel bag and a large, hefty Mizuno towel. Each entrant also got a cool-looking Mizuno technical shirt. I enjoyed this race very much and would definitely do it again. After all, Shanghai is my hometown and I left my heart there before moving to San Francisco.

I did the Shanghai Marathon in 2005. There was a full marathon (some 2,000 participants), half (3,000) and a a lot to choose from. This is generally a good run. Morning start, not too hot (normally), an A to B run with total descent of 20 meters. There is only one high bridge to negotiate on the way, so it is relatively fast all together. Race organization works pretty well, except for the registration process, which took place with too little recourse and in too small a place. Drinks on the way were ok, as were the kilometer marks. The course starts on the legendary bund area, just in front of the Peace hotel. First kilometers of the course go throught the city following the famous (then empty) Nanjing Road. After getting out of downtown, the course becomes a bit boring going mostly on and below some highways and flyovers. Towards the end at XX stadium, however, things get better once again. Towards the end part of the run you'll propably see all 60+-aged cheerleaders in organized colorful lines cheering just for you. This, if nothing else, is a reason to participate. ;o) After reaching the fininsh line, you'll find only sport drinks to get yourself back on track, which is a small minus. On the other hand, where on earth you get running shoes (Mizuno) and a huge towel just for finishing a marathon?! Ok, there was some time limit of four and a half hours to get them, but anyway. If you are not too far away, it is a good autumn run to consider. It is not a scenic park or lake run, but for a marathon in a huge metropolis, it is very much ok.